Gibbons wrote that the Library of Alexandria was destroyed by the Christians- Nope, it was the Romans, first under Julius Caesar.
Cleopatra was Egyptian, not Greek-
Well. Cleopatra was of Greek descent. But she was born in Egypt, her father was born in Egypt, and all the way to her 6 or 7 (the family tree is really weird) greats-grandfather (Ptolemy 3) was born there. Her family did marry into Egyptians and Persians. Now, if your 7x or 8x great grandfather was born in Ireland- but all the others “greats” were born in America- are you American or Irish? So this could go either way, depending on how you consider yourself- and Cleopatra considered herself Egyptian.
Any other examples- things that a lot of people think that are either wrong or just half-right?
One example of things which some people think, but which are wrong, would be ‘in ancient times, ‘Greek’ was always a nationality rather than an ethnicity’.
Cleopatra was Egyptian. I’m not sure if she was Greek.
Compare, ‘J is American, so she can’t be hispanic / Jewish / Korean’.
NASA wanted an alternative to pencils because the lead could easily break off and float away, creating a hazard to astronauts and sensitive electronics on the spacecraft. Cosmonauts also have been using Space Pens since 1969.
Did it cost taxpayers millions?
No. Paul Fisher at the Fisher Pen Company had already been working on a pressurized pen.
Also “NOVA” as in the car does not mean doesnt go.
If you type ‘does not go’ into Google translate it literally translates into ‘no va’ in Spanish. And ‘no va’ as Spanish input comes out as ‘not going’ in English.
Yes, I know the argument that ‘nova’ without a space is different than ‘no va’, but I think it still qualifies as an amusing foreign-market faux pas on the part of Chevrolet.
Shortly afterwards the great “Nova” legend arose, a legend which a little linguistic analysis shows it to be improbable:
First of all, the phrase “no va” (literally “doesn’t go”) and the word “nova” are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word “nova” as equivalent to the phrase “no va” and think “Hey, this car doesn’t go!” is akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn’t include a table.
** Although “no va” can be literally translated as “no go,” it would be a curious locution for a speaker of Spanish to use in reference to a car. Just as an English speaker would describe a broken-down car by saying that it “doesn’t run” rather than it “doesn’t go,” so a Spanish speaker would refer to a malfunctioning automobile by saying “no marcha” or “no funciona” or “no camina” rather than “no va.”*
** Pemex (the Mexican government-owned oil monopoly) has sold gasoline in Mexico under the name “Nova.” If Mexicans were going to associate anything with the Chevrolet Nova based on its name, it would probably be this gasoline.*
The Snopes article is rating as ‘false’ the myth that the Chevy Nova failed to sell well in Spanish-speaking countries as a result of its name. I was disputing your assertion that…
It does, literally, mean “does not go” in Spanish.
Further, ‘No va’ may not be a typical locution to describe an inoperative car for a Spanish speaker, but let’s take Snopes’ English comparative examples:
Just as an English speaker would describe a broken-down car by saying that it “doesn’t run” rather than it “doesn’t go,”…
OK, but if a ‘Honda Nogo’ named model was introduced to the U.S., sure, sales might still be fine if it was a quality vehicle, but some would snicker at the name. Or this example:
…akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn’t include a table.
If Ikea came out with a table named the ‘Nötable’, it might sell just fine, but some would find it amusingly ironic. Including me.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Snopes as a resource and appreciate the fact that they fight ignorance as the SD does, but I still think there is some irony to the fact that GM sold a car called ‘Nova’ in Spanish-speaking countries.
No Va- two separate words do mean that. Butas the cite says- First of all, the phrase “no va” (literally “doesn’t go”) and the word “nova” are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word “nova” as equivalent to the phrase “no va” and think “Hey, this car doesn’t go!” is akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn’t include a table.
Anyway- the UL says it was a marketing blunder- and it wasnt.
Another supposed “marketing blunder”: that Gerber baby food sold poorly in Africa because the locals assumed the picture of a smiling baby on the packaging meant the product contained ground-up babies.
This triggered a memory of a story I heard somewhere- seems like I remember a social studies teacher trying to illustrate language barriers or cultural differences, or something. I have no idea from exactly where I’m remembering it, or whether it has any basis in truth at all.
Anyway, the story goes that a young married couple who spoke little or no English (I seem to remember they were from Japan) and couldn’t read English at all, had emigrated to America. Their first trip to a grocery store was overwhelming with all the unfamiliar products, the labels of which were unreadable.
Then they see a shelf with cans of Crisco, featuring a mouthwatering picture of delicious fried chicken. They buy a can, take it home and are excited to have their first American fried chicken dinner…buuut not exactly the KFC experience they had hoped for.
It’s hard to participate in this thread because I don’t know what I don’t know.
So I can only post what I do know that people often don’t.
There was much ado about the lady who sued McDonald’s for spilling hot coffee on herself. If you look at the facts of the case it’s clear McDonald’s was responsible for gross negligence, their coffee was significantly hotter than any other competitor, had injured people before, they had been ordered to lower the temperature and didn’t, and the poor lady had third degree burns and required skin grafts on her genitals. Not so frivolous.
People think Nietzsche was a fascist and probably a Nazi, but quite the opposite. Nietzsche abhorred anti-Semitism so much he broke up with his anti-Semite best friend and even wrote a book about it, Nietzsche Contra Wagner. (Yes, that Wagner.) His conceptualization of the ubermensch was about personal morality, not some kind of superior race. Though he wrote on more than one occasion that he thought Jews were a superior race. He admired their subversion of traditional morality in the formation of Christianity, though he despised what Christianity became. In 1898 Nietzsche succumbed to syphilis and became mostly non-responsive. It was at this point his Nazi sister in law Elizabeth Forrster Nietzsche took over his affairs, published The Will to Power (and maybe doctored it) and put it in the hands of Nazi officers.
All rumors about him being a sexist asshat, however, are 100% true. Though he at least acknowledged women as an oppressed group, and saw their so-called inferior behavior as stemming from their oppression rather than innate differences. So good for him, I guess.
